Made of Scars

by Eden Wildblood

  “You do love him then?” she asked, and Marcus peered up at the screen, watching as Wynter shook her head again. What the hell was she getting at? And why did he care so damn much? She was making him crazy.

  “No, but he made me understand one thing,” she answered with a sordid curl to her lip, and she waited a beat and then let her smile spread to a grin. “That no human man will ever satisfy me again. Not Warren or anyone else.”

  Marcus moved closer, his eyes still solely on Wynter as he watched her walls break down and her finally speak the truth. She didn’t want to be with any man thanks to Jakob. Only a vampire would do. She’d apparently made up her mind, and, by God, it was truly glorious to realise what that meant.

  Seven

  Wynter had given it everything she had to portray her lies. She’d forced herself to smile and pretend, because it was the only option she had left, and all because she knew Marcus would be watching. He had sent Marcella to her in a bid to extract the truth once and for all, and she knew it was time she gave him an answer as to why she had remained so aloof lately. So closed off. He had to believe it was for no other reason than her fear and love for him, and so placed her hand over her heart and steeled her strength as she gazed across at Marcella. Her friend, but also his slave. Just another person under his spell and one who she knew would betray her in a heartbeat.

  “So what? You’re going to be celibate like Joanna until you can spend the night with Jakob again? Or do you have someone else in mind?” Marcella asked, and Wynter shrugged her shoulders. She could work with that if it bought her some time.

  Marcus wasn’t shy when it came to touching her and Wynter knew it wouldn’t make a difference if she did or didn’t want him to, he would do it anyway. At least if he thought her heart yearned for his then perhaps he might stop playing his awful games and leave her alone? He’d wanted to be worshipped by a willing slave after all, and she intended to try that route to stroke his ego and hopefully gain a bit of headway.

  “I’ve decided I’m Marcus’s and his alone. If he wants me, then fine, but if not? I’ll never take another lover,” she lied, and while it’d been hard saying the words, she knew it was worth it. They both had to believe her. It was becoming a matter of necessity now that time was dragging along and she was still not free, and if Marcus believed she was his now, then surely it would appease his violent need to control her further.

  “You're playing a very dangerous game,” Marcella replied and Wynter did a double take. Someone else had said those exact words to her just hours’ before. The Priestess. Was it just a coincidence that Marcella had said it too, or could it really be that she had been played? The woman who had spent an intimate day with her and taken her dancing, the one who had laughed with her and been there when she’d needed her. The friend whose shoulder she had cried on more than once.

  Could she have been lying to her this whole time? Was Marcella nothing more than a hidden spy in the form of an everyday member of Marcus’s staff?

  It was entirely possible. She hadn’t seen it before, but now it seemed obvious. Wouldn’t that just have been perfect for Marcus and his desire to control all aspects of hers and the others’ lives?

  Wynter needed longer to piece it all together, but was sure she’d figured them out. She decided not to call her out on what she’d said, but she was going to tread more carefully with her ‘friend’ in future. She would watch and take note of the things Marcella said and did. And the same went for the Priestess. What a dangerous game indeed, but now the tables had turned.

  “It’s not a game,” she answered her with another of her now signature forced smiles, “I want to be strong now. A fighter. But I will only fight for those who love me and I them. And I intend for Marcus to be top of that list.”

  ***

  Marcus shuddered at hearing Wynter’s explanation. Could she really have grown to love him? He hadn’t got that vibe from her at all, and yet she had indeed broken things off with Warren that morning straight after having found comfort in his embrace. Had she decided then that enough was enough so had gone to tell him? It appeared so, but he wasn’t going to simply take her word for it. She would have to prove it to him. And he knew just how she could do it.

  He went to the door of her bedroom and opened it up to reveal the two women sitting atop Wynter’s thick duvet together, just like he’d seen on screen.

  “Marcella,” he growled, not even looking at her. His sole target was Wynter and he couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked scared, and so she should be. “You may leave.”

  She did as he had asked and offered him a sly smile on her way. Yes, his Priestess had done a fine job in getting Wynter to open up and reveal the truth about what she was feeling. She would be rewarded, but not now. No, he had another who needed his attention first.

  He closed the door behind him and moved over towards the bed, where he came to a stop beside his darling girl. She peered up into his face and he watched her for a moment before leaning down and placing a hard kiss against her lips. She returned his kiss but continued to hold back, and that simply wouldn’t do.

  “Marcus,” she whimpered, but he didn’t want to talk. He wanted to act. He shushed her and then a wave of brilliance washed over him as an alternative idea sprang to mind. It was time she was properly tested.

  “Do not make another sound, my sweet. If you love me as you say, then you will bite your tongue and take what I have to give you…” her eyes flashed and her breath hitched and Marcus knew Wynter had thought he’d meant sex, but she didn’t deserve his love yet. They had all the time in the world for that, but first, she still needed to be punished.

  He shook his head and sensed her emotions transform from anticipation to a deep and resounding sense of trepidation, and she was right to fear him. He had a lot of anger still welling within his heart at how she had betrayed him and let Jakob try and run off with her. She hadn’t fought the deviant assassin for so much as a moment of it and Marcus had to know why.

  Rage boiled within him again, and there was just too much to let him be kind or gentle with her. He had to offload first, and was going to push Wynter to her limits in a bid to take away everything she thought she knew before and leave her with only him.

  Her master.

  Her mentor.

  Her everything.

  He started by flipping her over onto her stomach and wrenching down her pyjama bottoms to expose her perfect round and white backside. Wynter was trembling but she followed his order to remain silent as he ran his hands over her flesh.

  She arched against him, but this wasn’t the time for a bit of fun, and he proved so by slapping his hand against one cheek with a loud crack. Wynter jumped and hissed with the sting, but he didn’t allow her the time to recover before delivering another smack.

  He then removed his belt and curled it into a loop in his palm, which he lashed her with over and over. He sent his makeshift whip flying down on her rapidly reddening skin and with each slap she went to cry out but stopped herself just in time, proving her point.

  Gaining his trust.

  Earning his love.

  Like the good little slave he knew she was.

  Eight

  Eight days earlier…

  Jakob forced himself to move. To take the opportunity the few seconds’ Wynter’s sacrifice had given him to evade the huge vampire who had beaten him half to death. The behemoth had almost been on his way to besting the notorious assassin and they’d both known it, however his darling soul mate had been right. The soldier had one task. One focus. And Jakob wasn’t it.

  When she’d come between them the soldier had faltered. Something in his brain had told him no, but he wasn’t quick enough to stop himself from hurting her. Jakob would remember the sound of her bone cracking for the rest of his life. He had felt it too, like some kind of psychic link to her pain.

  And yet his one true love hadn’t stopped. Wynter had run away. She had taunted the mindless creature and given Jakob hi
s freedom. The chance to get away while she sacrificed herself.

  He felt like a coward for having taken it, but they both knew the only alternative was to let the soldier kill him or take him into custody too. And then he’d be dead the moment the pair of them were delivered to Marcus atop that cliff’s edge. He wasn’t the type to forgive and forget, and Jakob had not only taken his favourite slave away, but also merged his soul with hers. Something he’d never once thought himself capable of doing in his twelve hundred years.

  Alone, Wynter might be able to convince him otherwise, but if they were together Marcus would discover the truth. He’d see it in her eyes and read Jakob’s actions and reactions like a book. It was true what they said about vampires who merged with humans. Once it was done, they were just as vulnerable as their human counterparts, and undoubtedly more emotional. Something inside of them clicked and lit a fuse that could never be snuffed out as long as their soul mate was alive. It was love in its truest and purest form. Something Jak had never succumbed to before and had pitied those who did, and yet now, he was broken without Wynter by his side. Desperate to pull her near and be complete again. He felt such loss without her it physically hurt, and had wanted to take off after them.

  But instead, she was being the hero. She would be taken back to Marcus and he was powerless to stop it. All he could do was honour her sacrifice.

  Jakob clambered to his knees and turned to face the second vampire soldier he had been sure would now come after him, but instead he found the foul thing locked in a fight with someone else. Or, should that be, something.

  The black, mist-like creature was shaped like a man, but he wasn’t flesh and blood at all. He was a manifestation in human form, as per the creature’s design. Shit. It was a jinni. One of God’s vilest entities to ever walk this Earth and something Jakob was not about to mess with. But why was it there? And who had summoned it? Perhaps Camilla? It couldn't be. She was dead now for sure anyway and her orders would be invalid, so how and why was there a jinni in their midst?

  There was only one answer.

  No, Jakob thought. It was worse than he’d imagined. Marcus really had done the unthinkable this time. He had rendered the services of a jinni, and undoubtedly doomed them all.

  He ran for the water, figuring his only way out was to the south, and stopped only to look back and check that Wynter was okay. He bobbed atop the waves as he focused on her—the other half of his heart and soul—and in spite of everything within him telling him to keep quiet and run, he called out to her.

  “I’ll find you!” he shouted in promise, still watching her as the feral vampire soldier slung her over his shoulder and made to leave. Jakob also watched as the second vampire stopped what he was doing and followed them, and as the jinni also backed off and disappeared in a heartbeat. That was when Jakob realised just how crazy Marcus was. He’d sent the horde after Wynter, sure, but to entrust her safety to a jinni? He had to be insane.

  Yes, the jinni would protect Wynter at all costs and make sure of it that she never died or was hurt beyond repair, but he would also feed from her, just like Marcus did. The parasite would take root deep within and drain her life force while he was at it. They were nothing like the stories of wish-granting deities who lived within the confines of a lamp. No, real jinni didn’t live inside a trinket, but were attached to a host. They lived off their strength and spirit while inhabiting their body. Feed from their energy, while diminishing that of the host.

  The ancient creature would lie dormant until her life was in danger, which was when he would take form again like he had on the beach, but with each passing day Wynter would lose more and more of herself to him. She would grow weaker before long, which would eventually result in her death, turning her into one of the Jinn in return. Like some kind of thanks for having shared her life force with her freeloading guest.

  And when that happened, there was no going back. She would be lost to them all forever, her human life over, and Marcus had to know this. So why had he done it? Why had he risked her soul just so that she would have a protector on hand at all times? He was beyond reckless.

  Fearing the worst for his soul mate, Jak laid back in the water and let the current drag him further away from her. Every inch of him ached with the cold, his right collarbone hurting most of all, and he glared up at the clear blue sky while seething with rage.

  It was because of the boy who had come close to taking her life. The deviant from his club that day Jakob had found Wynter beaten and bloody in Marcus’s office. That had to be the reason.

  Marcus had rendered the services of what was clearly a cunning enough jinni if he had falsely claimed he could depart Wynter’s host body before he did any lasting damage. The vile creature undoubtedly jumped from one host to another, but they were never the same afterwards. No one ever truly survived a jinni’s curse.

  And so, Jakob now had two foes Wynter needed to vanquish. Each was as dangerous as the other, and he knew he would need some allies. Some others who despised their self appointed leader as much as he now did. Marcus had killed his sire, but more than that, he had taken his merged soul mate hostage. Jakob would take his revenge, but first, he had to escape and put together a plan.

  He let the tide carry him away as he formulated not one, but dozens of potential plans. The waves were rough but it mattered not. The vampire needed no sustenance to survive or air for his lungs. No fresh water to quench his thirst.

  He floated for two whole days with nothing but his thoughts for company before finally spotting a ship that was heading right for him.

  It was a cruise liner, and the moment he began flailing around the ship slowed, and he could tell he’d been spotted. They fished him out of the ocean and drank up his lies about having turned over in a small boat. He kept thanking them all, and Jakob didn’t even have to try hard to get into their good graces. The ship was full of humans enjoying their Christmas break, and they each welcomed him aboard like the trusting and innocent to the dark side of the world, people they were. Jakob didn’t have the heart to tell them otherwise. He didn’t even feed from any of them while he was on board either. He simply sat and stared out at the horizon, waiting for the ship to reach its destination, and wondering where his Wynter was. If she was safe. If Marcus was taking care of her.

  He bloody well better had be. But it didn’t matter anyway. The ancient vampire was going to die at his hands regardless and nothing he could say or do would change that.

  ***

  Six days later

  “It’s now or never!” Jakob bellowed at his comrade, Nick. “We need to infiltrate the club and get Wynter back. I can’t leave her there with him another week.”

  “I know,” his old friend answered, his tone soothing and calm, and yet it did nothing to quench his desire for vengeance. “But we’ve been over this. As long as she’s with Marcus, she is safe. He won’t hurt her, plus she has the jinni on her side.”

  “Don’t remind me,” he growled, stomping away. Nick didn’t get it. He couldn't feel what Jak felt, or sense the iciness that was creeping into his body from the inside out. Wynter was dying without him. They needed to be reunited, and he knew there wasn’t much time left. Planning and preparing was all well and good, but not when time was so clearly of the essence.

  He decided to hit the gym. It was his only solace in these torturous few days since he’d arrived back in the blustery port of Southampton thanks to the cruise ship, and Jakob knew it was his way of dealing with having been parted from his soul mate.

  The days were endless. The nights even worse. He’d bounced back and forth from plotting revenge and planning his attack to either working himself out until exhaustion hit or drinking himself into a stupor. Either one was preferable to the soul-crushing emptiness that enveloped him whenever he wasn’t busy with one task or another, or the part of him cursed that human girl for having stolen his heart. Life would’ve been so much easier without her pulling him back to her.

  Yeah, who w
as he trying to kid? She’d made him live again. Like, really come back alive, as if he’d been dead for more than a century. A walking corpse, until her.

  Jakob would save her, and had a plan all mapped out for once he got Wynter away from Marcus. He was going to place vials of her blood in random places across the globe while hiding her away with the help of his trusted friends. They too weren’t fans of his, and were ready to help Jakob take Marcus down a peg or two for nothing more than the sheer elation of knowing they'd had a hand in getting one over on him.

  The problem that still remained was just how he was going to get to her. Jakob had infiltrated Marcus’s club before and was sure he could do it again, but he was no fool. Security would be tighter now. His vampire soldiers would be on the lookout and undoubtedly ready to pounce should they pick up his scent. And then there was the Priestess. She was not to be underestimated by any means and in some ways Jakob feared her more than any of the vampires standing between him and Wynter. Just like that boy she’d crushed into a bloody heap, Jak knew she would gladly end him should he cross her path again.

  Nine

  Wynter woke to find Marcus drinking from her left wrist. She was lying on her belly exactly where he’d left her after beating her with that damn belt, and she knew there was no other choice but to remain where she was. The pain across her back was excruciating, but his bite was giving her that heady, needy feeling as usual and Wynter felt a rush of desire flow through her, thundering in her core. She closed her eyes and thought of Jakob. Of the many times he had made her climax during their time together.

  Not a single thought was for Marcus.

  But those weren’t her and Jakob’s most wonderful of moments. No, it was when she had peered into his deep blue eyes and seen his soul shining back at her from within them. It’d had nothing to do with the sex, but of his true caring for her. Of his love. Jak had taken her body and made her feel something again, but his affect on her heart had been so inspiring she’d had no choice but to love him back. To give him her soul in return.